Sasha Cohen had a magnificent start with a crowd-pleasing performance at the Campbell's International at St. Paul, Minnesota on October 8. The crowd was on its feet well before she finished her program.
John Nicks, her coach, said it was the best he remembered her skating. "I told Sasha she would be tough to beat skating that well," Nicks said. That was Sasha's 12th win in senior competitions.
Sasha culminated the 2003-2004 season with a silver medal at the World Championships in Dortmund, Germany. She has earned victories over every competitor who has medaled in previous Olympic competition who remain eligible.
Sasha has returned to her hometown of Laguna Niguel, California and has resumed training with her first coach, Mr. John Nicks.
Sasha withdrew from this year's Grand Prix Series with a back injury. Returning to her former home and coach she is focused on the U.S. Nationals in Portland, Oregon and the World Championships scheduled in Moscow in March, 2005.
Sasha is as much an ambassador for her charities as she is for her sport. She is active in promoting her charities and quietly embraces causes their impact on youth and families.
Among Sasha’s six ISU Grand Prix victories in the past three years is the 2002 Grand Prix Final – the first season she competed in the prestigious series. Sasha has won nine senior international competitions within the past three years, compared to only one previously.
"There is nothing more satisfying than getting off the ice and knowing you have become a better skater that day," Sasha says.
In sports, where first names are synonymous with greatness, Sasha has earned that illustrious status. Sasha, a model-like athlete, had a break-out year during the 2002 season. Only two months before the season started, Sasha and her family moved from California to Connecticut to train.
Last season Sasha traveled weekly to Long Island, N.Y., from her Connecticut home to live with Robin Wagner in Long Island. They would travel daily to Hackensack, N.J., to train. It provided Sasha an opportunity to be near her beloved New York City.
“It’s just gorgeous every time we see the skyline of Manhattan. You get the sense of the excitement. And I have such an amazing appreciation for New York City,” Sasha says.Sasha decided that she was more comfortable with her family and friends and a warmer climate when she announced in December she was returning home to to her roots.
"After the last several years training on the East Coast I have come to the realization that California is my home, and it is time for me to return," Sasha said. Sasha grew up in Laguna Niguel, Calif., and lived there with her family until she was 17. She moved to the East Coast during the summer of 2002 and began training with Robin Wagner in December 2003.“There is nothing more satisfying than getting off the ice and knowing you have become a better skater that day.”
Sasha performed her first triple-triple combination in competition last season and her technical elements continued to improve to become almost flawless. Sasha is conscious how valuable good nutrition is to an elite athlete and prepares most of her training food – fruit, cereal, breads, wild oats, yogurt and salads – during her weekly regimen. “My schedule calls for a lot of snacking,” Sasha says.Sasha is also noted for wearing fabulously designed dresses at her competitions.
She plays an active role in their design. Her collaboration on her “Swan Lake” dress for her freeskate program was one of the most talked about secrets coming into the 2003-2004 season. Sasha's dress for "My Fair Lady", performed on the 2004 Champions On Ice Tour, received stunning reviews. Just as fabulous was Sasha skating to the role of idol Audrey Hepburn's Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady's" Eliza Doolittle. Sasha received standing ovations on Tour and enjoyed another benchmark in her expanding artistic skating.
Sasha’s success on the ice combined with her popularity off it makes her one of the most sought after representatives of her sport. She was among the finalists for the 2004 Teen People Award, an honor that represents all sports. She has joined the U.S. Figure Skating Association by attending camps to promote the sport. This season Sasha will become more active in public skating activities and representing the sports' sponsors.
World-renowned photographer Mario Sorrenti, who spotted Sasha skating at a rink in New York City, photographed her for the high-fashion French V magazine. Sasha has also been featured in Seventeen magazine with a seven-page layout. She is scheduled to be in the COSMOgirl magazine scheduled to be on newstands in November this year.
Sasha enjoys an active role in supporting the Connecticut Children's Medical Center and was the guest of honor hosting a tea that raised money for the children's hospital. She is a spokesperson with Girls, Inc., and Covenant House. Sasha also sponors military personnel who serve in foreign countries through Soldiers' Angels. Sasha encourages the public and her fans to join her in support of her favorite charities.
